Semiconductor shortage continues to plague Motown; PV makers soldier on

There is already a long waiting period on a significant number of new car bookings across brands, running into four-eight months, and the situation is expected to shadow over the festive season as well.   “The demand for semiconductors has gone up significantly across the world. Especially, there has been a substantial increase in demand from the electronics good industry that is putting pressure on the makers of semiconductors to meet the demand of the world including the automotive industry,” says Puneet Gupta, Associate Director, IHS Markit. He goes on to say that the shortage of semiconductors is expected to continue in the remaining part of the current year and will be felt even next year.  In a bid to balance out the shortage of semiconductors and the pent-up demand, PV makers have been resorting to price hikes almost every quarter. “Generally, we have seen two yearly price hikes that are undertaken by OEMs, but this year, the price hike is undertaken every quarter,” says Gupta.  Rajan Amba, Vice-President, Sales, Marketing & Customer Care, Passenger Vehicles Business Unit, Tata Motors, says, “The shortage of semiconductors is impacting the industry all around and is likely to continue for some time, as we